It has been announced that the Electoral College of the Church in Wales has elected the Rt Revd Cherry Vann, Bishop of Monmouth, as the fifteenth Archbishop of Wales, and her election has been confirmed by the Bench of Bishops. The announcement is copied below.
More pictures can be seen on Facebook here. There is a BBC News report here.
New Archbishop of Wales elected
A new Archbishop of Wales has been elected today, 30 July 2025.
Cherry Vann who has served as the Bishop of Monmouth for the past five years, has been chosen as the 15th Archbishop of Wales.
She succeeds Bishop Andrew John who retired in July after three and a half years as the leader of the Church in Wales.
Archbishop Cherry was elected having secured a two-thirds majority vote from members of the Electoral College on the second day of its meeting at the St Pierre Church and Hotel in Chepstow. The election was confirmed by the other diocesan bishops and announced by the Provincial Secretary of the Church in Wales, Simon Lloyd. Archbishop Cherry will be enthroned at Newport Cathedral in due course. As Archbishop she will continue to serve as Bishop of Monmouth.
Originally from Leicestershire, Archbishop Cherry Vann was consecrated as Bishop of Monmouth in 2020. Cherry was ordained as a deacon in 1989. She was then among the first women to be ordained as a priest in the Church of England in 1994. She then served as Archdeacon of Rochdale, in the Diocese of Manchester, for 11 years.
She said, “”The first thing I shall need to do is to ensure that the issues which have been raised in the last six months are properly addressed and that I work to bring healing and reconciliation, and to build a really good level of trust across the Church and the communities the Church serves.”
The Very Revd Ian Black, Dean of Newport welcomed the news on behalf of the Diocese of Monmouth.
He said, “Cherry is the right person for this moment in the Church in Wales’ life. She has the skills and vision that we need to restore trust following some very public failings. She has brought stability to the Diocese of Monmouth, managing the change to ministry areas with clarity and purpose, showing deep care for the clergy and people. This foundation will be a good base as she leads the Province over the next few years.
“She has a deep faith, which is also open to those who take a different view to her, and this has impressed those people enormously.
“I look forward to supporting her as Dean of her Cathedral. One of our duties and pleasures here is to pray for the bishop every day and we will continue to do so gladly.”
So delighted. An excellent appointment.
Inspired nomination.
Congratulations to her I hope she is Happy in her role. The speed of the appointment- from Andrew Johns resignation to this. Makes me think the CNC process needs reviewing immediately especially for the Archbishoprics. Edinburgh Diocese is about to be vacant and this is the timetable Saturday 27 September 2025 – Preliminary Meeting of Electoral Synod (including an in-person meeting in Edinburgh of the Preparatory Committee). Saturday 7 February 2026 – Electoral Synod meeting with candidates. Saturday 14 February 2026 – Electoral Synod meeting to undertake election. If Scotland and Wales can do these appointments faster why does a CNC need to be so long? Whilst… Read more »
Very good news!
I watched part of Cherry’s consecration online and was delighted to observe that Archbishop Kay Goldsworthy of Perth was present.
What a hopeful appointment.
I am sure that this will be an excellent appointment. It would also be interesting to know how fluent Archbishop Vann is in Welsh. From the middle of the 19th century it became policy to appoint genuinely Welsh bishops, and – more importantly – it became a sine qua non for them to be very capable in Welsh. This was because it was widely believed that one of the main reasons for the collapse in Church attendance was the perception that its bishops were colonial imports, who had little or no facility in Welsh. Bishop Vann (as she then was)… Read more »
My memory may not be perfect but I don’t recall Archbishop Derrick Childs, who retired from Monmouth in 1986, being noted for Welsh language proficiency, but maybe I am.wrong.
The constitution of the CinW recognises that its not imperative for the Archbishop to be a Welsh speaker. The Bishop who holds the portfolio for the Welsh language will act on behalf of the Archbishop where Welsh language is imperative. However ++Cherry is able to bless, confirm, baptise and ordain in Welsh when asked to do so. Even here in Newport liturgical Welsh is regularly employed. Hope this helps.
The bishop of St Davids Dorrien Davies is the only native Welsh speaker. Wigan born Carl Cooper learnt Welsh and spoke like a native (unlike the current bishops of Bangor and St Asaph who are Welsh born). Re domestic talent pool – there’s been a drain of talented Welsh speaking clergy into England including Harri Williams, soon to be Principal of St Stephen’s House. In my opinion leaving a fast sinking ship with its final Archbishop. When I was confirmed in the Church in Wales in the 1980s, the church where I worshipped had a vicar, curate, two lay readers,… Read more »
Dorien isn’t a native Welsh Speaker. He learnt Welsh and speaks it well.
It’s interesting that every comment I have read on BBC’s Cymru Fyw (a Welsh language news programme) expresses the hope that the new archbishop speaks Welsh or concern that she doesn’t. While the appointment is widely welcomed, this is a perspective from Welsh language speakers that English speakers will probably miss. In those parts of Wales where Welsh is widely spoken, and in civic and cultural life, it really matters to people that at least some of the bishops can communicate in their language (and, no, the fact that everyone can speak English doesn’t mitigate the desire people have to… Read more »
I think that Mary Stallard at Llandaff speaks Welsh too.
Agreed. You wouldn’t have an Archbishop of Paris who couldn’t speak French would you??
Everyone in France speaks French though, while most people in Wales do not speak Welsh.
Gwilym Williams (Bishop of Bangor 1957-82 and Archbishop of Wales 1971-92) was born in London, but in a Welsh-speaking nonconformist family. Welsh was the language of home and chapel. The family moved to Caernarfonshire when he was 8. Welsh remained his first language throughout his life (although he gained ‘a first’ in English in Oxford).
For more see my biography, ‘Archbishop Gwilym Owen Williams “G. O.”: His Life and Opinions’ (2017).
Gwilym Williams retired as Archbishop in 1982, rather than ’92,
Many thanks to James, Anon, Michael H and Ms Henderson for these observations. Although I have attended services in every county within Wales, logistics (i.e., coming over from easternmost Kent) have necessitated that I have seen more of Llandaff, Monmouth and Swansea & Brecon dioceses. On the whole my experience has been of a Church that is hanging on by its fingertips, outside the main urban areas (but also often within them) and suburbs – but in that sense it has not been hugely unlike much of England. A single stipendiary for 14 units would scarcely bat an eyelid these… Read more »
I got cut off, evidently: apologies. The rest of Glanmor Williams’ quote reads “Nor is there any latter-day Elijah to be discerned on the mountain-top, charged with a prophetic charisma which might once more invoke the celestial lightning-flash.” (from the essay, ‘Fire on Cambria’s Altar’ in ‘The Welsh and their Religion’ (1991), at 72).
I am also most grateful to Canon Price for his comments about G. O. Williams.
I may be wrong, but I get the impression that the CoE has meticulously avoided appointing Bishops from among those women who campaigned for decades for ordination, that is, the first cohort to be ordained. Certainly, it contained many women of far higher calibre than some of the male bishops we have had to suffer these last 30 years!
Is this a first in the Anglican Communion in being an Archbishop or similar level role appointed whilst living in a legal same sex relationship (civil partnership or marriage)?
Yes, I believe it is.
As ever I am open to correction, but this is a first.
We need to pray for her.
I suspect there will be some very personal things written and said. Everything I know of her is excellent, but I hope she has a lot of personal support – and her partner as well.
I believe that BP Gregory will be invaluable to her with his deep understanding of the Anglican Communion.
Whilst I wish the new Archbishop of Wales every success, I cannot hide my disappointment that she is not Welsh speaking. Would any other country countenance appointing someone who was not fluent in their own language. I know many people will argue that the vast majority of people speak English. However, Wales has two languages, of equal status, or so we are led to believe. When it comes to deeply personal matters and milestones, I, and many other members of the Church in Wales, want to feel confident that such occasions can be conducted in Welsh. The previous Bishop of… Read more »